Feb. 4 COVID-19 update: Indicators trending down, bus blitz nets few mask violators

OTTAWA – Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is reporting 39 new cases of COVID-19 but reports transmission in the community is trending downward.

The public health unit says there are 22 healthcare institutions dealing with outbreaks of the virus, as well as six childcare or school settings and three workplaces.

The number of active cases in the city has dropped to 457 today (Feb. 4).

There are still 29 people in hospital with COVID-19 – six of whom are in intensive care (ICU). OPH says local hospital ICUs are 79 per cent full, while acute care beds are at 101 per cent.

The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 is up slightly, for the first time in weeks, from 1.8 per cent to 1.9 per cent.

No new deaths related to the novel coronavirus leaves Ottawa’s pandemic death toll at 422.

There have been 13,485 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city since March of 2020, of which 12,606 have been resolved.

Ontario is reporting 1,563 new cases of COVID-19 today, including 20 in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, three in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark district, and one in Renfrew County.

‘Very high compliance’ on Ottawa’s buses

OTTAWA – OC Transpo’s mask enforcement blitz Feb. 3 found “very high compliance” from customers the public transportation authority reports.

The public transportation operator conducted the blitz yesterday, to help reiterate the importance of following guidelines designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 while riding public transit.

As a result, Ottawa Transit Commission chair Allan Hubley confirmed the following statistics from the blitz:

• Three Bylaw tickets
• Zero customer denied access to the system
• 67 were told to adjust their masks as they were not wearing them properly
• Nine had no masks due to medical reasons

Hubley said earlier there were extra teams of special constables stationed across the entire transit system to ensure compliance.

There was “positive feedback and interactions,” Hubley said at yesterday’s media availability.